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Sena's bandh cripples life in Thane

Rail traffic was partially blocked while buses kept off the roads following incidents of stone-pelting in the wake of a bandh (closure) called by the local unit of the Shiv Sena.

The bandh was called to protest against the Maharashtra government's decision to allow the Bombay police to prosecute Sena leader Bal Thackeray for his inflammatory writings during the 1992-93 riots.

The district police said stray incidents of stone-throwing were reported in Naupada precinct where some persons threw stones at two buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, smashing the window panes. Similar incidents took place in Kalyan, Kolsewadi and Agharwadi.

No arrests were made and no injury was reported. "We are maintaining tight security in the district," a police spokesman said.

In Ulhasnagar, Vitthalwadi and Dombivli, cement sleepers were laid on the tracks to block rail traffic. There were no trains running on the Thane-Karjat line.

Shops and colleges remained closed while buses and autorickshaws kept off the roads. Only medical shops and hospitals in the district were functioning.

Shiv Sena district chief Anand Dighe gave the bandh call despite repeated statements by senior Sena politicians that there was no plan for such an agitation. Thackeray too had appealed to his followers to keep the peace.

UNI

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